Quote:
Originally Posted by Revi16
Performance and reliability are two different things. The aircraft would have performed the same with either the Ha40 or DB 601, 1150hp is 1150hp no matter which engine supplies it. Same power to weight ratio, etc..
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Not necessarily. The design output for two originally similar engines may have been the same (e.g. 1150hp), but the quality of the build, the quality of materials, the design modifications to facilitate large-scale manufacture, the closeness to design specifications and tolerances, etc, even the quality of secondary items such as sealants mentioned by Graham; would have a great bearing on how much of that design power output could actually be achieved.
As Laurent said, perhaps the lack of experience with producing high-power in-line engines was a factor. Or there may have been other, more significant influences: perhaps the Ki-61 was just a "draggy" design compared to the Bf109F or the Macchi C.202?
Or perhaps the anecdotal bad reputation of the Ha40 was mistaken?
...geoff